Underskirt



Aug. 19, 1941.

D. F. LIVERMORE ,UNDERSKIRT Filed May ll, 1940 ANL Jr l,...

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Patented Aug. 19, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE UNDERSKIRT Dorothea F. Livermore, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application May 11, 1940, Serial No. 334,493

1 Claim.

The object of this invention is to provide for womens wear a garment that will supplement short fur jackets and furnish needed warmth and protection below the waist. Supplemental garments have been specially made for this purpose, but are designed to be worn outside of the dress skirt. This invention aims to provide an underskirt or petticoat which will be suitable for this purpose.

To be practical there are certain essential properties of such an underskirt. It is necessary that it shall be warm and at the same time shall not alter the appearance and hang of the outer or dress skirt. It is necessary that it shall not interfere in any way with the freedom of movement of the outer skirt in conforming to the movements of the wearer, and that it shall not cling to the bloomers or other under garment of the wearer. It is desirable also that it be capable of being readily put on and taken off when the wearer is otherwise fully dressed so as to be used truly as a supplement to the fur jacket.

The underskirt oi this invention has an impervious interlining and the problem has been to obtain such an interlining which will be sufciently limp to conform completely to the figure and not interfere with the drape of the outer skirt, and also to provide 'a material for the underskirt on both sides of the interlining which would maintain complete freedom and independence of the outer skirt and undergarment no matter what material they may be composed of; in other words to get such an underskirt which would slip or slide freely both inside the outer skirt and over the under garment.

For universal use it will be understood that the underskirt must be usable with any kind of dress material, wool, silk,serge, crepe, jersey etc. The combination which has been found to be entirely satisfactory and to meet all the requirements is an interlining of chamois with a covering both inside and out of silk taffeta. Preferably the waist band will be continuous and elastic with gathering at thetop of the skirt to permit of expansion sufficient to enable the wearer to step in'to and out of it and pull it over the hips. Thus it may conveniently be put on and taken olf along with the fur jacket. The bottom of the underskirt may of course be finished las desired for the sake of appearance. Such an underskirt is so limp and slides so easily over the contiguous garments that its presence on the wearer is not noticeable and at the same time it affords the desirable warmth and protection.

Such an underskirt is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective partially in section;

Fig. 2 is a section from top to bottom; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section.

The illustrated skirt is made of a double layer of silk taffeta and has 'a chamois interlining. It has an elastic waist band and is gathered at the top so as to be expansible as the waist band is stretched to go over the hips. The chamois vlls the skirt circumferentially andrfrom the bottom to substantially the waist band. The bottorn may be provided with a ruie or other ornamental finish as desired.

As is well understood in the trade, the term chamois is commonly used to refer to buckskin treated to have the ygeneral appearance and properties of 'the real chamois skin Without the tendency to become hard and stiff upon drying after being wet, and commercial buckskin of that character is comprehended herein in the use of the term chamois.

It is a simple matter to put on this underskirt 'and take it ofl' when fully dressed and the outer skirt irrespective of its material slips freely over it and hangs naturally. Being taffeta on its inner face it also has no tendency to cling to any undergarment. The talfeta seems to have just enough body to provide a proper covering for the chamois and combine to produce the desired effect.

If preferred the waist band may of course be made to open with the ends buttoned or snapped together. Other ni'od'ications which will not detract from the special features of the invention will readily suggest themselves. While chamois has proven an entirely satisfactory interlining, it is possible of course that some other skin or material having substantially the same -properties will be found. Conceivably some other fabrics might have the properties of taifeta but at present no satisfactory substitute is known. It will be understood, nevertheless, that in referring to chamois and taifeta those terms are intended to comprehend any material having their properties when used in the combination herein described and claimed.

What is claimed is:

An underskirt having a waist portion and made of a chamois interlining extending from adjacent the waist band to adjacent the bottom of the skirt and faced on both sides with taifeta.

DOROTHEA F. LIVERMORE. 

